Method of tufting cushions.



No. 682,l39. Patented Sept. 3, l90l.

. A. FRESCHL METHOD OF TUFTING QB'SHIONS.

(Application filed Sept. 25. 1899. Renewed; J1me 19, 1901.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED FRESOHL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

METHOD OF TUFTING CUSHIONS.

SPECIFICATION formin'g part of Letters Patent No. 682,139, dated September 3, 1901.

Original application filed May 16, 1898, Serial No. 680,804. Divided and this application filed September 25, 1899. Renewed June 19,1901. Serial No. 65,217. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALFRED FRESCHL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ohicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Tufting Gushions, (Case No. 6;) and I do hereby declare that the following is such a full, clear, and exact description of the same as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to practice and use the same.

This case is a division of my application filed May 16, 1898, Serial No. 680,804, and patented February 21, 1899, No. 620,070.

This invention relates to an improved method or process of making upholstered or tufted cushions, and has for its object to produce such cushions more expeditiously and cheaply than has been heretofore possible.

The invention consists in the matters hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention is intended to produce upholstered cushions for backs or seats and which usually consist of an outer covering or facing of leather, cloth, or similar material, a bottom or backing of cardboard, burlap, or other suitable material, and a filling or packing of hair or like material, the tufted efiect, which maybe of any design or pattern, being produced by dividing the filling into a plurality of elevated rounded or diamond-shaped projections and securing the cover and backing together between these elevations at the base of the cushion by suitable fastening means, the outer edges being finished in any manner appropriate to the use for which the cushion is intended.

The mode of practicing my present invention is as follows: In making a cushion the cloth or other flexible material constituting the cover or facing A is placed upon a suitable mold or former with its finished face downward on the base of the mold and filling the cells or dies between the tufters of whatever character with which the mold is provided to form separate pockets in .the body of the facing. The cover is then suitably secured in position to prevent its displacement during the subsequent operations. The cover may first be marked or creased with the pattern or design which it is desired to reproduce in the'finished cushion, fullness of material being allowed to form the pockets, and after it is positioned in the mold suitable means, preferably pins, may be employed to retain it in place, passing through the cover at the points indicated by the marks. When the facing has been disposed upon the former to provide the upwardly-opening pockets in its rear face, suitable filling material C is applied in the pockets, being pressed therein to the density required to produce the necessary firmness in the cushion. The lining or backing Bis then applied and is pressed down preferably until it comes in contact with the facing at the several points where said facing is held elevated upon the tufters to form the depressions or pits between the elevations or tufts of the cushion. The lining is also preferably held against displacement during the operation of securing the two thicknesses of 'material together, preferably by the same pins that hold the facing in position, and the lining and facing are then secured together at said points of depression by any suitable fastening means.

It is obvious that any order of packing the pockets with the filling may be adopted, as they'may all be filled at the same time by disposing the filling over the entire area of the facing and the lining applied thereto, or the material may be applied to each pocket separately and the backing secured thereover before filling the next pocket, and so on step by stop until all the pockets are completed.

The proper and successful practice of the invention requires that the materials shall be held against displacement in the mold while the upholstering is being done, it being obvione that any movement thereof will result in making the projections or tufts uneven and not uniform. This may be accomplished in a variety of ways. For example, the outer covering may be tucked about the tufters by the use of Well-known tucking-pegs, (shown, for example, in my Patent No. 592,508, granted to me October 26, 1897,) or the tufters ma be provided with sockets to receive staypins, or pins may be attached to the tufters and the material pressed down over them in the operation of applying the parts to the mold. The latter arrangement is preferable and is the one illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which show apparatus upon which the process may be expeditiously and easily carried out.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of one form of base or mold over which the cushion is formed by hand. Fig. 2 shows in sectional view the cushion in the mold or former before the same has been completed. Fig. 3 shows one manner of securing the outer and inner coverings together at the tufts. Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate details of another manner of securing said coverings together, and Fig. 6 illustrates in longitudinal vertical section another form of apparatus for making cushions in accordance with my invention.

Referring to the construction shown in the drawings as being a suitable exemplification of an apparatus for carrying out my invention, the reference-letter D indicates a mold or former of any desired form to correspond with the form of the cushion to be upholstered thereon, this mold being provided in practice with suitable side and end Walls. The former is provided with a plurality of tufters E, which are arranged and disposed to correspond with the number and location holding devices.

of the depressions in the cushion and are arranged opposite the points in the cushion in which the cover and lining are secured together in tufting. These tufters are preferablyin the form of upwardlyprojecting posts, each preferably provided at its upper end with a pin a to hold the material in place.

The employment of pins attached to the posts and over which the material may be pressed is desirable as simplifying and expediting the work, the operator then anchor-' ing the facing in place as he positions it in the cells. Moreover, by the use of such upwardly-projecting pins the pockets in the cover may be independently and successively filled and the lining attached thereto as each ,cell is filled without any danger of displacing the materials and without using any auxiliary The use of the upwardlyprojecting tufting-posts, which are attached directly to the base-plate of the mold and 5 provided at their outer ends with pins adapted to pierce the inner and outer coverings and hold the same firmly in place during the operation of making the cushion, is of much importance, as they greatly simplify the operation, the posts themselves serving to divide or separate the cells and obviating the neces sity of employing for this purpose separate tubes through which the tufting nails or stitching are inserted.

It is obvious that the cover and lining may be secured together in any suitable manner, as by stitching with a heavy thread provided with a suitable needle F, as shown in Fig. 3. Instead of sewing, the two layers of material may be secured together by means of headed tufting nails or pins G, passing through both coverings and clenched over washers G on the under side of the lining. When such nails or pins are employed, they will be attached to the upper ends of the posts with their points directed outwardly and in extension of said posts. Said nails or pins may be of any suitable construction and will be secured upon the posts by any suitable means affording detachable connection, by which they will be held rigidly thereon against accidental displacement and serve the same purpose as the pins 6. When thus attached, said nails serve to hold the layers of material in their proper relation before they are permanently secured together. In Figs. 4 and 5 I show one means for detachably connecting the tufting-nails to the posts, though it is to be understood that any other suitable means may be employed. In this instance the posts are provided with a plurality of spring-armsE, which project beyond the ends of the posts and are curved inwardly in their projecting portions to embrace the heads of the nails with a yielding pressure.

All of the operations for making a cushion by the use of the devices thus far described are performed by hand. It is, however, obvious that certain of the steps may be performed by mechanical means, and in Fig. 6 I have shown an apparatus in which the filling is pressed into the pockets formed in the outer covering by mechanical means. In this figure, H designates the base of a former, and H the side walls thereof. The upwardly extending posts I are preferably provided at their upper ends with pins 2', as in the construction heretofore described, they being either detachablefrom or rigid with said posts. The filling is pressed into the pockets formed in the outer covering by means of a follower J which is movable vertically between the walls of the former and fits closely therein. In practicing the invention with this form of apparatus the filling is placed loosely upon the outer covering A after the pockets have been formed therein and the material secured over the pins, the box being filled with the material C to a depth considerably greater than the depth of the pockets, so that it will be packed to the required firmness when pressed therein. The inner covering or backing B is then placed over the filling and the follower is lowered upon said cover and power is applied to force the same downwardly. Said follower is provided with a plurality of circular openings J which are 10- cated opposite the posts and through which the pins project when the follower has been depressed sufficiently to carry or thrust said pins through the inner covering or backing. The follower may be operated by any suitable means, such as a screw-shaft K, which engages at its lower end in a bearing-yoke K, resting upon the upper face of the follower and which has screw-threaded connection with a frame L, attached to the upper edges of the walls of the former. The shaft is provided at its upper end with ahandle K IIO by which it may be rotated. After the backing has been depressed the inner and outer coverings may be secured together either by stitching or by means of tufting-nails in the manner above described. The former or mold in either case may be provided with a plurality of strips, which are set edgewise in the mold longitudinally and transversely thereof and intersect each other at said posts or tnfters, thereby forming in the mold a plurality of separate cells, within which the outer covering of the cushion may be depressed to form the pockets therein.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The method of making tufted cushions which consists in laying a piece of pliable material face downward over a form having a plurality of upwardly-projecting tufters, depressing the said material between the tufters to form a plurality of upwardly-openin g pockets therein, positioning said material upon the tufters by pins associated with said tnfters to hold it in proper relation upon the former, filling the pockets with a suitable pliable filler, applying a suitable backing material over the filler and pressing the same down over the pins, and securing said upper and lower materials together at the points between said pockets.

2. An improved method of making tufted cushions, which consists in laying a piece of pliable material face downward over a form having a plurality of tufting-posts each provided with a detachable tufting-bntton having an upwardly-projecting shank or pin forming upwardly-opening pockets in said material between the posts, securing said material over the pins to hold the same in position, filling the pockets with a suitable pliable substance, applying a suitable material over the top of the article and pressing the same down over the pins to hold the same in proper relation to said material first men tioned, and then securing said upper and lower materials together at the points between the pockets by means of said pins.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ALFRED FRESOHL.

Witnesses:

ROBERT J. CATCHPOLE, J. MoRoBERTs. 

